FritoLay goes Indian to up its market share

Multinational snack maker FritoLay has Indianised its potato chips brand Lay's in the wake of competition by new entrants like ITC's Bingo.

As part of its rebranding exercise, FritoLay has introduced Lay's Chaat street, India's Mint Mischief and Wafer Style based on consumer insights.

This was accompanied by new packaging design, which is part of an international initiative. It has also introduced regional connect flavors on brands like Lay's Caribbean Style.

"This initiative has seen huge success as a result of a finely tuned supply chain. We also leverage the topicality of events to deliver strong connect with consumers - these limited edition flavours are in market for a fixed period of time," said Deepika Warrier, vice-president, marketing.

Although, FritoLay India leads the market with a share of 45 per cent, it has lost over 10 per cent share in the Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) branded snacks market this year. Haldiram's and ITC have a market share of 27 and 16 per cent, respectively.

The company has worked on the design and consumer research with Perspective, a design group based in London and San Francisco in association with Indian arm of the global media agency, JWT.

Warrier said: "The launch of the re-branding in the market was after meticulous consumer research and the design template adopted in India incorporated consumer feedback studies done across the country."

She said: "We have invested considerable resources, both in the design and consumer research stage to build the new brand identity for Lay's potato chips."

The company has reduced saturated fats in its core product range by 40 per cent and is promoting the concept of 'snack smart'. Its core products are now being cooked in rice bran oil.

It is not just FritoLay which has adopted an Indian approach but also its competitors. According to research agency Euromonitor International's October 2007 review, this segment witnessed a trend towards 'Indianisation', characterised by the launch of products and flavour variants that are traditionally popular with Indian consumers.

The introduction of local flavour variants and products represents an attempt by manufacturers to encourage consumers to switch from unpackaged sweet and savoury snacks to packaged and branded alternatives.

Snacking Smart
FritoLay has  introduced Lay's Chaat street, India's Mint Mischief and Wafer Style as part of its rebranding exercise

FritoLay India leads the market with a share of 45 per cent. Haldiram's and ITC have a market share of 27 and 16 per cent, respectively

The introduction of local flavour variants and products represents an attempt by manufacturers to encourage consumers to switch from unpackaged sweet and savoury snacks to packaged and branded alternatives